When I got my betta (Tony) a year and a half ago I had him at work with me, he had treated city water. I have since left that job and brought him home. My hubby and I live on an acreage and our water comes from a well. The water from the well has quite high mineral content, we get rust-like streaks in the toilet bowl and if water is left on the drying cutlery it will leave a buildup of minerals.

Tony initially adjusted well to the change in water (8 months ago). Lately we notice he's been almost lethargic, he just sits on his plant and sleeps. I have taken in water samples and also bought water testing strips for at home. All of them say that the hardness is through the roof and the pH is a little high. I bought a solution that says it will bring the hardness and pH down but I notice that it's not really working that well.

Is there anything else I can do to bring the hardness down? Is this what is causing him to be lethargic? I have heard that betta's only live until about 2 years old, so could it be old age?